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| Goya Award for Best Actress | |
|---|---|
The 2025 recipient: Carolina Yuste | |
| Awarded for | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role |
| Country | Spain |
| Presented by | Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain (AACCE) |
| First award | 1987 |
| Most recent winner | Carolina Yuste Undercover (2024) |
The Goya Award for Best Actress (Spanish: Premio Goya a la mejor interpretación femenina protagonista) is one of the Goya Awards, Spain's principal national film awards.
Since its inception, the award has been given to 26 actresses. At the 1st Goya Awards ceremony held in 1987, Amparo Rivelles was the first winner of this award for her role as Laura in We Must Undo the House. Carmen Maura has received the most awards in this category with three wins. Penélope Cruz was nominated on twelve occasions, winning two times.
As of the 2025 ceremony, Carolina Yuste is the most recent winner in this category for her role as Mónica / Arantxa in Undercover.
In the following table, the years are listed as per the Spanish Film Academy convention, corresponding to year the ceremony was held.
| ‡ | Indicates the winner |
|---|






| Year | Actress | Role(s) | English title | Original title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 (1st) [1][2][3] |
Amparo Rivelles ‡ | Laura García | We Must Undo the House | Hay que deshacer la casa |
| Victoria Abril | Dorita | Time of Silence | Tiempo de silencio | |
| Ángela Molina | Rosa | Half of Heaven | La mitad del cielo | |
| 1988 (2nd) |
Verónica Forqué ‡ | Ana Chamorro | The Happy Life | La vida alegre |
| Victoria Abril | Consuelo "Chelo" García | El Lute: Run for Your Life | El lute: camina o revienta | |
| Irene Gutiérrez Caba | Bernarda Alba | The House of Bernarda Alba | La casa de Bernada Alba | |
| 1989 (3rd) |
Carmen Maura ‡ | Pepa Marcos | Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown | Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios |
| Victoria Abril | Ana Alonso | Baton Rouge | ||
| Ana Belén | Alejandra Barrachina | Miss Caribe | ||
| María Fernanda D'Ocón | Sor Mercedes | Caminos de tiza | ||
| Ángela Molina | Charo | Lights and Shadows | Luces y sombras | |




| Year | Actress | Role(s) | English title | Original title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 (14th) |
Cecilia Roth ‡ | Manuela Coleman | All About My Mother | Todo sobre mi madre |
| Ariadna Gil | Isabel | Black Tears | Lágrimas negras | |
| Carmen Maura | Berta | Lisbon | Lisboa | |
| Mercedes Sampietro | Gloria | By My Side Again | Cuando vuelvas a mi lado | |
| 2001 (15th) |
Carmen Maura ‡ | Julia García | Common Wealth | La comunidad |
| Icíar Bollaín | Leo | Leo | ||
| Lydia Bosch | Julia | You're the One | Una historia de entonces | |
| Adriana Ozores | Susana Grey | Plenilune | Plenilunio | |
| 2002 (16th) |
Pilar López de Ayala ‡ | Joanna of Castile | Mad Love | Juana la Loca |
| Victoria Abril | Lola Nevado | Don't Tempt Me | Sin noticias de Dios | |
| Nicole Kidman | Grace Stewart | The Others | The Others | |
| Paz Vega | Angela | Mine Alone | Sólo mía | |
| 2003 (17th) |
Mercedes Sampietro ‡ | Liliana Rovira | Common Ground | Lugares comunes |
| Ana Fernández | Andrea | Story of a Kiss | Historia de un beso | |
| Adriana Ozores | Ágata | Nobody's Life | La vida de nadie | |
| Leonor Watling | Elvira | My Mother Likes Women | A mi madre le gustan las mujeres | |
| 2004 (18th) |
Laia Marull ‡ | Pilar Pérez Villar | Take My Eyes | Te doy mis ojos |
| Ariadna Gil | Lola Cercas | Soldiers of Salamis | Soldados de Salamina | |
| Adriana Ozores | Amparo | Sleeping Luck | La suerte dormida | |
| Sarah Polley | Ann | My Life Without Me | ||
| 2005 (19th) |
Lola Dueñas ‡ | Rosa | The Sea Inside | Mar adentro |
| Pilar Bardem | María Zambrano | Dearest Maria | María querida | |
| Ana Belén | Hortensia Ocaña | Things That Make Living Worthwhile | Cosas que hacen que la vida valga la pena | |
| Penélope Cruz | Italia | Don't Move | Non ti muovere | |
| 2006 (20th) |
Candela Peña ‡ | Caye | Princesas | |
| Adriana Ozores | Pilar | Heroine | Heroína | |
| Nathalie Poza | Ana | Hard Times | Malas temporadas | |
| Emma Vilarasau | Irene | Something to Remember Me By | Para que no me olvides | |
| 2007 (21st) |
Penélope Cruz ‡ | Raimunda | Volver | |
| Silvia Abascal | Finea | The Idiot Maiden | La dama boba | |
| Marta Etura | Paula | Dark Blue Almost Black | Azuloscurocasinegro | |
| Maribel Verdú | Mercedes | Pan's Labyrinth | El laberinto del fauno | |
| 2008 (22nd) |
Maribel Verdú ‡ | Ángela Montero | Seven Billiard Tables | Siete mesas de billar francés |
| Belén Rueda | Laura García | The Orphanage | El orfanato | |
| Blanca Portillo | Charo Gil | Seven Billiard Tables | Siete mesas de billar francés | |
| Emma Suárez | Nines | Under the Stars | Bajo las estrellas | |
| 2009 (23rd) |
Carme Elías ‡ | Gloria Usaola | Camino | |
| Verónica Echegui | Isa | My Prison Yard | El patio de mi cárcel | |
| Ariadna Gil | Aurora Rodríguez | Just Walking | Sólo quiero caminar | |
| Maribel Verdú | Elena Vadillo | The Blind Sunflowers | Los girasoles ciegos | |








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The following individuals received two or more Best Actress awards:
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The following individuals received three or more Best Actress nominations:
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